JUNE 28 — There were two articles about custody death in yesterday's paper, one about the High Court ruling and another on the response of the home minister. They reflected two different ways of thinking and values.

High Court judge V.T. Singham found the police and the government liable for suspected car thief A. Kugan’s death from grievous injuries at the Taipan police station on January 20, 2009 and awarded the family RM801,700 in damages. He also pointed out that former Selangor police chief Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar, now the Inspector-General of Police, was liable to misfeasance of public office.

Meanwhile, Home Minister Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi said that the government has no intention to set up the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) as it overlaps with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and contravenes the Federal Constitution.

Singham said the IPCMC should be set up with immediate effect. He also raised many questions and was very concerned about whether abuse of power was involved. These are also the doubts of the public. Meanwhile, the home minister explained the reason why the government did not set up the IPCMC.

The home minister said some areas of the suggested IPCMC overlap with the MACC in terms of investigation and prosecution. The power of the IPCMC to take action against a policeman contravenes Article 7 of the Federal Constitution that reads: "No person shall be punished for an act or omission which was not punishable by law when it was done or made, and no person shall suffer greater punishment for an offence than was prescribed by law at the time it was committed.".

The IPCMC was proposed by a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) to create a complaining channel for the public and to curb police abuse of power and weak discipline. After several legal changes were made, the police's authority has been expanded and thus, must be better checked and balanced. In the absence of such an independent investigation unit, the public will have no way to lodge complaints. It also lacks transparency to let the police investigate police officers suspected to have made mistakes.

Since the MACC focuses on investigating corruption-related cases, its functions should not overlap with the IPCMC. Moreover, the IPCMC could act faster. If the IPCMC's authority contravenes the Federal Constitution or other existing laws, the government can adjust its authority and rationalise it. The IPCMC will definitely not judge before investigation and there are also specific investigation procedures to follow. Those involved need not worry.

In a democratic civil society, public power must be checked and balanced so that it can effectively and professionally serve the people. The police cannot deny that there are black sheep in the police force. For instance, two policemen were arrested and suspended recently for allegedly assaulting and extorting a pregnant woman in Cenderawasih, about 160km from Lahad Datu.

Not many people want to lodge complaints to the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) and the low efficiency of the EAIC, which has taken only one disciplinary action and issued two warnings from September 2011 to end of 2012, indicated the need to set up the IPCMC immediately.

The government has always received negative external evaluations, such as the United States has placed Malaysia on Tier 2 human trafficking watch list for a fourth consecutive year. The image and credibility of government units have continued to fluctuate at low levels with the case of Chee Gaik Yap serving as the latest example. It showed that structural reforms are imperative.

If no structural reform is made, the BN government would find itself in a dilemma of cleaning up the mess and it is definitely not a long-term solution. — mysinchew.com

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malay Mail Online